综合医院以不明原因发热为表现的结核病100例临床分析

目的 探讨以不明原因发热(FUO)为表现的结核病的临床特征.方法 回顾性分析100例北京协和医院确诊的以FUO为表现的结核病患者的临床资料.结果 (1)结核累及部位:单纯肺结核39例,单纯肺外结核28例,肺结核合并肺外结核33例.(2)临床表现:由于累及部位的不同,伴随症状各异.实验室检查多为ESR增快和C反应蛋白升高以及不同程度的消耗表现即贫血和低白蛋白血症.(3)诊断方法:抗酸杆菌阳性的34例,组织病理符合结核病的8例,临床诊断并经抗结核治疗有效的49例,诊断性抗结核治疗有效的9例.从发病至确诊的时间为3～77周,中位确诊时间14周.(4)治疗反应:73例随访的患者中仅有2例(2.7%)死亡,其余均好转或治愈.正规抗结核治疗4周以内显效率为77.5%.37例(52.1%)出现药物不良反应,经调整治疗方案和对症处理后均好转.结论 以FUO为表现的结核病诊断比较困难,应对该病临床表现进行综合分析,认真阅读胸部影像学资料,尽可能寻找病原学和病理学的证据,必要时可给予诊断性抗结核治疗.     

深圳市某看守所结核病调查结果分析

目的了解羁押人群结核病发病情况,为今后羁押人群结核病防治工作的开展提供理论依据。方法对深圳市某看守所4 228名羁押人员进行胸部X线缩影片筛查,可疑肺部阴影者全部行X线胸片复查和痰涂片3次检查。结果X线胸片异常阴影92例,其中稳定性病灶34例（37.0%）,活动性病灶50例（54.3%）（6例新发涂阳肺结核）,8例感染病灶。44例涂阴肺结核病人中,入看守所前有结核病史11例（25%）;6例新发涂阳肺结核均有症状,44例涂阴肺结核中,有症状者17例（38.6%）;活动性病灶、临床症状和最终确诊时间均大多发生在入看守所后26个月和612个月2个时间段内。结论看守所羁押人员结核病患病率显著高于社区,且症状不典型,存在延迟诊断的问题。     

Initial roentgenographic manifestations of bacteriologically proven Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Typical or atypical?

Admission chest roentgenograms were reviewed of all patients diagnosed with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at the Medical College of Georgia--Eugene Talmadge Memorial Hospital (MCG-ETMH) during a five-year period from 1979 to 1983. Of 75 patients included, 51 had pulmonary TB, whereas 24 had extrapulmonary infection. Cavitary disease was common (28 of 51 patients with pulmonary TB). Forty-four of 51 patients with pulmonary TB had involvement of apical and/or posterior segments of the upper lobes with cavitation or infiltrates. Pleural effusion, parenchymal nodules, lymphadenopathy, and lower lung field disease were uncommon. Thirteen of 24 patients with extrapulmonary TB had abnormal admission chest roentgenograms, suggesting the possibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Despite recent studies suggesting that TB presents with atypical roentgenographic features more commonly than reported in the past, the roentgenographic manifestations of TB in our series were typical of those previously described as pathognomonic for the disease.     

上海市肺外结核的流行病学分析

目的 了解上海市肺外结核的流行病学特征，探讨对其进行监测的意义。方法 根据１９９６￣１９９９年上海市１０个市区所有肺外结核新登记病例资料，分析肺外结核的年龄、性别、患病部位的分布及流行趋势和死亡情况。结果 上海市１９９６￣１９９９年肺外结核新登记率为４．６３／１０万￣５．７８／１０万，肺外结核占全结核的９．７％￣１１．９％，肺外结核死亡占全结核死亡的１４．１％￣１７．６％。肺外结核中以周围淋巴结核     

Tuberculosis in HIV/AIDS patients: a Malaysian experience

This retrospective study was conducted at the National Tuberculosis Center (NTBC) where 252 HIV-positive patients coexisting with tuberculosis (TB/HIV) were examined. We found that patients with pulmonary (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) had similar mean age. A higher sex ratio between male to female (10.7:1) was observed in patients with PTB. The other characteristics of patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis were not statistically different from each other. Cough (88%) and hemoptysis were the most common presenting symptoms, significantly related to patients with PTB. Lymphadenopathy (33.5%) was the most common sign in patients with EPT. The majority of patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis had CD4 cell counts of less than 200 cells/mm3 (range 0-1,179 with a median of 57 cells/mm3). Lung (89%) and miliary (55.6%) forms were the most frequent disease locations in patients with PTB and EPT, respectively. A higher percentage of patients with PTB (42%) were treated successfully with short-course (6 months) therapy, whereas in patients with EPT (43%) needed a longer period (9 months) for successful treatment. Of the patients who defaulted treatment, a higher proportion (87%) had PTB. No MDR-TB or relapse cases were found in this study.     

A study on patients with tuberculosis among foreigners overstayed in Japan after expiration of visa--activities over three years

An analysis of thirty-two cases of foreign patients with tuberculosis (TB) who had overstayed their residence permits was done at Minatomachi Medical Center over the past three years. The ratio of male to female patients was 2.5 to 1; the age of the subjects was evenly distributed. By country of origin, 87% of the cases were from Southeast Asia and East Asia. As none of the patients belonged to health insurance schemes because of their illegal status, their access to medical care was restricted, and the delay in visiting clinics was notable. As 22% of the cases were diagnosed as a result of programs to provide free TB screening for foreigners, it is important to ensure easy access to TB screening and medical facilities for early detection of TB. Amongst the cases, the proportion of cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis occupied 28%, which is higher than that of Japanese. Although the defaulting rate among patients during the nine years period from 1990 to 1998 was high (41%), it decreased to 12% during the past three years of this study. The following active measure was vital for preventing defaulting from treatment and ensuring clinical cure: 1. Utilization of the Tuberculosis Prevention Law to reduce the economic burden of the patients. 2. Interpreters available in various native languages. 3. Provision of adequate information of TB before starting treatment. 4. Strict follow-up of patients to ensure coherence to treatment. 5. Establishment of an international network of governmental organizations, NGOs, and medical facilities to exchange informations on preventive and curative cares in the home and host countries.     

EXTRAPULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS A CONTINUING PROBLEM IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem in Australia, with 24.3% of all new tuberculosis notifications in 1984 of extrapulmonary origin. We have reviewed our recent experience to assess the epidemiology and clinical features that may allow the earlier recognition and treatment of patients at risk for this disease. From 1980–1985, 51 cases of extrapulmonary TB were identified at Westmead Hospital. Thirty-eight patients were born outside Australia, mainly in South-East Asia and Europe. The commonest sites of disease were the lymph nodes, genitourinary tract, pleura and bone. Tuberculous lymphadenitis occurred predominantly in South-East Asians, whilst genitourinary tract disease was confined to Caucasians. A history of previous exposure to tuberculosis was obtained in 45% of patients. Fever, sweats and weight loss were noted in less than half of the cases. Changes consistent with old pulmonary disease were found on routine chest X-ray in 34% of cases. Laboratory confirmation of TB was made in 88% of cases, with typical histopathology in 90% and isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 69% of specimens submitted for analysis. Drug resistance was confined to isolates from South-East Asian patients. (Aust NZ J Med 1987; 17: 507–511).     

Tuberculosis diagnosed at death in the United States

From 1985 through 1988, 5.1 percent of TB cases reported in the United States were diagnosed at death. Differences in the proportions diagnosed at death by race/ethnicity, sex, and place of birth (United States vs foreign-born) were relatively small. The proportion of cases diagnosed at death increased with age, from 0.7 percent in patients less than 5 years old to 18.6 percent among patients 85 years and older. Only 26.0 percent of cases diagnosed alive were among those 65 years and older, but 60.3 percent of those diagnosed at death were in this age group. Eighteen percent of cases with miliary, meningeal and peritoneal TB were diagnosed at death, compared with 4.8 percent among those with pulmonary TB. These data indicate that TB too often remains unrecognized and that, to prevent continuing deaths from this curable disease, a high index of suspicion of TB remains important, particularly among the elderly and among persons with extrapulmonary sites of disease.     

Fourteen-year trend of tuberculosis dynamics in the northwest of Turkey

BACKGROUND: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in different countries as estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) vary from 23/100,000 and less in industrialized countries, 191/100,000 in Africa and 237/100,000 in South East Asia. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of TB in the northwest of Turkey, between 1988 and 2001. METHODS: All pulmonary TB cases reported to the National Tuberculosis Center by local TB dispensaries during 1988-2001 were analyzed. The number of new and relapsed TB cases were documented and classified according to age and type of TB (standard classification of TB patients according to disease type: pulmonary, new, smear positive; pulmonary, smear negative; relapse, and extrapulmonary). We recorded information about the prevalence of TB in different patient groups (patients with a contact history, patients who were detected in active community screening or passive case finding), TB trends in different age groups, type of TB, patients who had relapses, percentage of patients who were lost to follow-up. RESULTS: A total number of 288,996 patients were examined at Zonguldak Tuberculosis Dispensary between 1988 and 2001. Case notification rates of TB decreased over the study period. Respiratory TB was the most commonly encountered form of disease (>90%). The percentage of TB decreased in the 0- to 14-, 15- to 24-year-olds and increased in the 25- to 44- and 45- to 64-year-olds. CONCLUSION: Properly designed disease surveillance systems are critical for monitoring the TB trends so that each country can identify its own high-risk groups and target interventions to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease.     

A study on tuberculosis cases among over-staying foreigners

An analysis was made on eighty-four cases of tuberculosis (TB) among over-staying foreigners during the past 9 years at Minatomachi Medical Center. All of them did not enroll in any health insurance system because they were illegal immigrants. Most of them were in their twenties and thirties. The ratio of male to female was four to one. By ethnic origin, the proportion was highest among Filipinos (30%), followed by Koreans (23%), Pakistanis (13%) and Indians (7%). Half of them had been in Japan for more than two years. Most patients sought care due to symptoms rather than as a result of the efforts of public health centers to screen foreigners. The proportion of extrapulmonary TB among all types of TB was 35% overall. Compared with pulmonary TB cases, patient's as well as doctor's delay was more marked among extrapulmonary TB cases. Forty cases were treated at Minatomachi Medical Center and forty-four cases were referred to another hospitals. The default rate including repatriation was as high as 41%, and the reasons for this high defaulting rate were as follows: 1. Language barrier, 2. Worry for loosing work during treatment, 3. Worry for high medical costs because of no coverage by a health insurance scheme, 4. Lack of information on medical systems and TB, 5. Worry for forced repatriation by the immigration office. In addition, some cases were not followed up due to unkind behaviour of attending physicians. The following measures are needed to prevent the epidemic of tuberculosis among overstaying foreigners and our societies. a) To provide free medical check-ups b) To provide easy access to medical facilities c) To utilize the tuberculosis prevention law d) To follow up patient thoroughly and strictly e) To explain TB in their mother languages f) To change the immigration law and its system g) To make liaison with other organizations such as medical facilities and NGOs, including foreign ones, and exchange informations h) To build good human relations with patients.     

Tuberculosis antigen A60 serodiagnosis in tuberculous infection: Application in extrapulmonary and smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract An ELISA diagnostic test for tuberculosis antigen A60 (TBA60) IgG/IgM was used in a tertiary referral hospital in Taiwan. From June 1992 to December 1993, serum samples obtained from 907 patients were analyzed for TBA60 IgG and IgM titres. The final diagnosis of these patients was confirmed by microbiological study and clinical follow up for 18–24 months. Among 147 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, IgG was positive in 112 (76.2%), IgM was positive in 14 (9.52%). Among 90 patients with active extrapulmonary tuberculosis, IgG was positive in 53 (58.9%), IgM was positive in 9 (10%). Among 153 patients with inactive tuberculosis, IgG was positive in 28 (18.3%), IgM was positive in 1 (0.6%). Among 517 patients with nontuberculous disease, IgG was positive in 50 (9.7%), IgM was positive in 3 (0.6%). In this study population with 26% (237/907) active tuberculous infection rate, the TBA60 ELISA IgG had a diagnostic sensitivity of 69.6% and a specificity of 92.1%. These results indicate a positive predictive value of 67.9% and a negative predictive value of 89.2%. The sensitivity of IgM was 10.5% and specificity, 99.4%. The serum IgG titre had good correlation with the extent of pulmonary disease. Patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB had a higher percentage of IgG seropositivity (83.9%) than those with smear-negative pulmonary TB (70.6%) and extrapulmonary TB (58.9%). In 50 cases with active tuberculosis, follow- up examinations were carried out one month after treatment. In 18 cases with initially negative IgG and IgM titres, 13 showed elevation of serum IgG titres into positive level, one had positive seroconversion of IgM which was the only serological marker indicating active infection. Therefore, 77.8% (14/18) gained diagnostic benefit from follow-up serological examination. It was concluded that TBA60 IgG and IgM ELISA is a useful test when diagnosing tuberculosis. This test also assists in the clinical judgement of tuberculosis when used as an adjunct to symptoms and sputum smear, and for monitoring therapeutic response at the commencement of treatment.     

Detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with a normal chest radiograph

OBJECTIVES: To describe the early symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) when the chest radiograph (CXR) is normal. SETTING: Centralized, provincial TB control program. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five patients with culture-positive pulmonary TB and a normal CXR were identified from a review of 518 consecutive patients with culture-positive pulmonary TB in the province of Saskatchewan from January 1, 1988 to March 31, 1997. Patients with abnormal CXRs at the time of diagnosis were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-three of the 25 patients (92%) were symptomatic at the time of diagnosis, with cough/sputum (76%) being reported most commonly. Eleven patients were identified because of contact tracing from cases of infectious pulmonary TB, while the other 14 patients were identified because of an investigation of symptoms. Twenty-four patients (96%) exhibited one or more symptoms of cough for > 1 month, fever for > 1 week, or skin-test conversion after contact with infectious TB. The sputum smear of only one patient was positive. Two patients were pregnant at the time of diagnosis, one patient was HIV-positive, and one patient demonstrated isoniazid-resistant organisms on sensitivity testing. Five patients were diagnosed as having primary TB associated with Mantoux skin-test conversion. The incidence of culture-positive pulmonary TB with a normal chest radiograph was < 1% in the period from 1988 to 1989 and steadily increased to 10% in the period from 1996 to 1997. CONCLUSIONS: Culture-positive pulmonary TB with a normal CXR is not uncommon, and the incidence of this presentation is increasing. Patients with this presentation of TB are typically symptomatic and/or are detected by contact tracing to infectious cases of pulmonary TB. The results suggest that patients presenting with a cough for > 1 month, with a fever for > 1 week, or with documented skin-test conversion < 2 years after known exposure to infectious TB should have sputum submitted for a Mycobacterium tuberculosis smear and culture despite a normal CXR.     

The Relevance of Biopsy in Tuberculosis Patients Without Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Although chronic granulomatous inflammation (CGI) with concomitant caseous necrosis (CN) is a characteristic histological feature of tuberculosis (TB), few studies have investigated its frequency or various pathologic findings. The medical records of 227 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -negative, culture-positive TB patients who underwent biopsy were studied. After the frequency of characteristic pathological findings of TB was determined, a pathologist reanalyzed the pathological findings with particular focus on necrosis and reclassified CGI, CN, or possible CN into possible TB pathologic findings. The initial biopsy interpretation revealed that 63 (34.8%) of 181 patients with pulmonary TB had caseating granulomas, 36 (19.9%) patients had only CGI, and 6 (3.3%) patients had only CN. Among 46 patients with extrapulmonary TB, 16 (34.8%) patients had only caseating granulomas, and 14 (30.4%) patients had only CGI. More patients who underwent percutaneous lung biopsy had CGI or CN (76.3%) than patients who underwent transbronchial lung biopsy (53.6%). The reanalysis confirmed all CN cases identified by the first interpretation, and 20 (95.2%) of 21 non-CN cases were reclassified as possible CN. Ten cases (three pulmonary and seven extrapulmonary) were reclassified as possible TB pathologic findings from just necrosis. Caseating granuloma was present in only one-third of TB cases. Even in cases where only necrosis was identified, CN may be present.     

Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection among patients attending tuberculosis clinics in the United States.

In 1988-1989, surveillance for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was conducted in 20 clinics providing medical care for patients with suspected and confirmed tuberculosis (TB) in 14 cities. A total of 3077 specimens from consecutive patients were tested for HIV after patient identifiers were removed. The median clinic seroprevalence rate was 3.4%, (range, 0-46.3%). The highest rates were found in the Northeast and Atlantic coastal areas. Rates by clinic were highest for persons born in the United States (median, 11.2%) and in the Caribbean region (Haitians, 36%-40%, and Cubans, 16%). Most HIV-infected patients had pulmonary TB, but HIV infections were more frequent in patients with extrapulmonary TB than in pulmonary TB patients (19.8% vs. 10.2%, P less than .0002). For US-born patients, rates did not differ by race or sex. These serosurveillance data indicate widespread HIV infection among TB patients and have important implications for clinical management of TB patients and for TB and AIDS prevention programs. Testing all HIV-infected persons and all TB patients for dual infection is essential to control the interrelated epidemics of AIDS and TB.     

Extrapulmonale Tuberkulosen

Tuberculosis (TB) is increasing worldwide. In industrial countries extrapulmonary tuberculosis (ETB) amounts to approximately 10–20%, while in countries with a high number of HIV co-infections the TB rate may be up to 50% (and pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB are often found in the same patient). In Germany and the other West European countries ETB is decreasing continuously and is more frequent in those of foreign origin in contrast to pulmonary tuberculosis, and particularly in foreign-born women. The diagnosis is sometimes difficult and often made long after the first—often uncharacteristic—symptoms. Because of its rarity ETB is seldom taken into consideration when establishing a diagnosis, probably due in part to insufficient knowledge and experience of the first physicians contacted.     

Clinical characteristics of tuberculosis in patients with liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with liver cirrhosis are likely to be susceptible to tuberculosis (TB) because of immune system dysfunction. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical characteristics and treatment responses in TB patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Cases were patients with TB detected during their follow up for liver cirrhosis over a 4-year period. Controls were randomly selected patients with TB but no liver disease, matched to cases by age and gender in a 3:1 ratio. RESULTS: Thirty-six cases and 108 controls were enrolled. Extrapulmonary TB was more common in cases than controls (31% vs 12%, P = 0.02). Clinical and radiographic manifestations and response to treatment did not differ between the two groups. The frequency of hepatotoxicity was higher in the cases than in the controls who were treated with a regimen containing rifampicin and isoniazid, although the difference was not statistically significant (27% vs 10%, P = 0.079). CONCLUSIONS: TB patients with liver cirrhosis show extrapulmonary involvement more frequently. Patients with pulmonary TB and cirrhosis usually respond well to anti-TB treatment although appear to present more frequently with treatment-related hepatotoxicity.     

High risk of tuberculosis in systemic lupus erythematosus?

The incidence and severity of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) varies greatly among different series. In addition, prospective data are scarce. The aim of this study is to analyse the frequency and severity of TB in our cohort of lupus patients. We analysed data from a prospective database of a single center cohort of 232 patients with SLE (ACR criteria). Prophylaxis with isoniazid was not regularly administered. We identified all cases of TB diagnosed during 10 years (January 1994 to December 2003). The following variables were analysed: annual incidence of TB, location of infection and response to therapy. Data from published series reporting on the incidence of TB among SLE patients were extracted. Three patients (1.3%) suffered clinically manifest TB in 1603 patient-years of follow-up, resulting in an incidence of 187 cases/100,000 patient-years (95% CI 39-547). The pooled annual incidence of TB infection in our area during this period was 30/100,000 individuals. We recorded two cases of pulmonary TB and one case of tuberculous pleurisy. All patients had good response to therapy. The annual incidence of TB among SLE patients in other series, most of them from developing countries, varied between 150/100,000 patients in Turkey and 2450/100,000 patients in India. Of note, high prevalence of extrapulmonary forms as well as elevated TB-associated mortality was reported in most series. TB was more frequent in SLE patients than expected in the general population. We did not see any cases of disseminated infection and all patients had good response to treatment. Our data compare favourably in terms of incidence, severity and outcome with those from highly endemic areas.     

HIV Testing among Canadian Tuberculosis Cases from 1997 to 1998.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests a global rise in adult tuberculosis (TB) cases associated with HIV/AIDS. The World Health Organization, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Public Health Agency of Canada advocate universal screening of all TB cases for HIV. The contribution of HIV to the TB burden in Canada remains unclear. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of all TB cases reported in Canada from 1997 to 1998. The aim was to determine the proportion of patients that had an HIV test on record, and of these, the number of patients infected with HIV. RESULTS: From 1997 to 1998, 3767 TB cases were reported to the national TB surveillance system. In the present study, 3416 case records (90.7%) were included. The number of cases with a record of an HIV test was 736 (21.5%), and of these, 41.2% were tested within one month of TB diagnosis. Among the 703 cases with known HIV test results, the prevalence of HIV infection was 14.7%. Cases with an HIV test on record were more likely to have one or more risk factors for HIV, and also were more likely to be male, aged 15 to 49 years, of Aboriginal ethnicity, and to have smear-positive TB and both pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease at the time of diagnosis. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that HIV testing of TB patients is not universal, but rather selective, and is likely based on perceived risk factors for HIV as opposed to TB diagnosis alone.     

Current problems in treating tuberculosis in Italian HIV-infected patients

31 Italian HIV-infected patients with newly diagnosed tuberculosis (TB) were reviewed to verify the effectiveness of the most common antituberculosis drugs. The patients were mostly intravenous drug addicts (90%), and 14 (45%) had recently been in prison. 5 patients (16%) had pulmonary TB, 15 (48%) had both pulmonary and extrapulmonary involvement, and 11 (30%) had extrapulmonary disease alone. 6 patients received the association of HRZ, and a 4-drug association including ethambutol was given to an additional 7 patients. The remaining 18 patients were administered the association of HRE. Response to therapy was good in 13 patients (42%), and lacking or delayed in 18 patients (58%). Treatment failure was partly related to the increased occurrence in our area of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to the first-line antituberculosis drugs. These observations, along with the need of a faster response to therapy than that currently obtained for TB in AIDS and in view of epidemiological effects, should prompt the definition of alternative therapeutic and prophylactic regimens.